Topic: Open Educational Resources

Overview

Open Educational Resources

Open educational resources are high quality teaching, learning and research materials that are freely accessible to all. Using OER in K-12 and postsecondary education creates more accessible and equitable educational opportunities. Open licensing allows educators, students and institutions to customize and share resources ─ from a single lesson plan to entire textbooks ─ without cost or copyright restrictions.

Publication June 2025 | 24 pages

Open Educational Resources in Higher Education
A State- and System-level Analysis

This report analyzes state- and system-level policies on open educational resources in the United States. It highlights policy that supports the adoption and growth of OER and offers recommendations for promising policies to scale open education. The report was published by a collaboration among the four regional education compacts, the National Consortium for Open Educational Resources.

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Publication May 202516 pages

Wiring the Future
Building an Infrastructure for Open Education

The open education movement has propelled open educational resources to the forefront of conversations on improving access and success in higher education. Technological advancements have expanded educational opportunities by allowing students to access information instantly, communicate globally and share learning materials at little to no cost.

Webinar
Michelle Singh

Adapting to Innovation: Are you ready for AI?
OER Summer Webinar Series

View webinar recording

As technological advancements develop rapidly, educators are faced with challenges for how to strategically approach adapting to innovation. Join the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board Division of Digital Learning in a lively discussion about how to strategically engage with evolving technologies, like AI, that will significantly impact how we teach, learn, do business and live.

News

Arkansas Community Colleges to benefit from joining Open Education Network

The Arkansas Community Colleges system is joining the Open Education Network, advancing the use of open educational resources (OER) across the state.

Faculty and administrators at Arkansas’ 22 community and technical colleges now can tap the network’s training and support for offering free, high-quality classroom resources to students — eliminating students’ textbook costs in some courses.

Publication October 202129 pages© 2021. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons BY license.

OER in Dual Enrollment
Leveraging Open Educational Resources to Expand Equitable Access

The number of high schools offering dual enrollment or concurrent enrollment courses has grown significantly over the past decade. However, gaps in student access and participation persist. This report from SREB and the Midwestern Higher Education Compact examines how the use of open educational resources, or OER, can make dual enrollment courses more cost-effective and increase college access for more students. The report provides an overview of policies across 50 states and recommendations on OER adoption and usage.

Blog post By Charlotte Dailey and Tiffany Harrison, SREB© 2022. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons BY license.
Charlotte Dailey of SREB speaks at the OER conference.

Momentum grows for open educational resources
After first-ever conference, leaders can tap additional workshops on using OER to support students

SREB continues to build momentum from the first conference of its kind — the Open Educational Resources and Dual Enrollment Conference: Making a Case for Student Success, held in Atlanta in late February — by embarking on more ways to bring education leaders together around this topic.

Publication December 202016 pages© 2020. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons BY license.

Gap Analysis and Environmental Scan
Sharing Observations, Priorities, Opportunities in the National OER Landscape

The four regional education compacts—the Midwestern Higher Education Compact, the New England Board of Higher Education, the Southern Regional Education Board, and the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education—are working together to help scale the adoption and use of open education resources nationally to allow millions students access to free, high-quality learning resources.

News By Alan Richard, SREB News
SREB President Stephen Pruitt speaks at the OER conference.

New tools may help more students succeed in college, dual enrollment courses

States are considering how they can help more students finish college — in an economy that demands higher levels of education and career preparation than ever before.

At SREB’s first conference of its kind, leaders from states, higher education, and K-12 education agencies convened in Atlanta Feb. 24-25.

The main topic was how OER — open educational resources, including high-quality, free textbooks and course materials — and stronger dual enrollment programs could help more students take college and career courses starting in high school.

Blog post Alan Richard, SREB News Manager

HOW OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES CAN HELP MORE STUDENTS TAKE DUAL ENROLLMENT

Expensive textbooks and other classroom materials can keep students from taking dual enrollment courses if those costs aren’t covered.

The result: A lack of opportunity for many students to get a head start on college.

States, colleges and universities are making headway on this challenge. Some of the pacesetters shared their insights in a webinar led by SREB and the Midwestern Higher Education Compact in October 2021. 

Blog post © 2021. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons BY license.
Photo of Charlotte Dailey

Why Open Educational Resources matter in the future of education
A Q&A with SREB’s Charlotte Dailey

Charlotte Dailey joined SREB in 2021 to lead our work on open educational resources. We spoke with Charlotte about why OER matter and why she works in this field.

For those who don’t know, what are open educational resources and why do they matter to the future of education?

Open educational resources are materials that can be accessed freely. They are openly licensed and available to be reused, remixed, revised, retained or redistributed. Materials that are truly OER have few to no restrictions for use in learning.

Webinar

OER in Dual Enrollment
Leveraging Open Educational Resources to Expand Equitable Access

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Join SREB and the Midwestern Higher Education Compact to learn the findings and recommendations of this forthcoming report.   

Open educational resources, or OER, are free, openly licensed, high-quality classroom materials. Expanding their use in dual enrollment courses can help more students afford and succeed in college courses while they are still in high school.  

News Grant Announcement
Higher Education Compacts Come Together to Help Students Succeed with Open Educational Resources

Higher Ed Compacts Come Together to Help Students Succeed with Open Educational Resources

State leaders, postsecondary education institutions and education leaders are working across state lines to promote the adoption of open educational resources (known as OER) to help millions of students access high quality learning materials that are free to use, customize and share. OER are free for students, and they make it easy for faculty to personalize lessons and textbooks to engage students with fresh, relevant content.

Webinar

OER in Dual and Concurrent Enrollment Programs
Current Practice and Best Practice

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This webinar presented early findings from a current study funded by the Midwestern Higher Education Compact and the Southern Regional Education Board to examine the current use of open educational resources in dual and concurrent enrollment courses. The webinar also explored best practices and lessons learned from states and dual enrollment partnerships pioneering these efforts.

News

GA Online Courses for Students, Teachers Available in All States
OER Courses Grades 6 -12 and Training for Teachers on Remote Learning

Available in All States

Georgia’s OER Online Courses, Grades 6 -12, and Free Training for Teachers on Remote Learning

Georgia Virtual’s OER (open educational resource) digital course content for middle grade and high school students and training courses for teachers are freely available to educators in all states thanks to the Georgia Department of Education and its Georgia Virtual Learning program.